Yogi and the nexus of good

| | in Oped
Yogi and the nexus of good

Despite some TV channels' attempts to show Uttar Pradesh in poor light, Adityanath is set to pursue his agenda of expanding the good and finishing the bad

Negativity is fast turning into a staple diet of public discourse in the urban Indian society. From the newspapers we read to the television channels we watch to the tweets we follow or WhatsApp messages we receive, there is an obnoxiously high dose of negativity that has been laced into all these. While television channels work hard on generating higher viewership ratings — and how sad, they think the best way to achieve this is through sensationalising — failed and ousted journalists work overtime to remain relevant by taking a swipe on those who they know will earn them most eyeballs and fringe elements are unceasing in spewing venom on social media. Often, the good is getting lost in the swarm of negativity.

It is no coincidence that for the past two weeks — and many times earlier as well — a deliberate effort has been made by some television channels to first construct negative narratives on Uttar Pradesh, then magnify and even glorify them. The good has been hoodwinked by these masters of manufacturing gloom. Explore a little and we find, they are apparently nervous with the pace of change and reforms that have swarmed Uttar Pradesh ever since Adityanath took over. Borrowing the idea of Human Resource Development Secretary Anil Swarup, who passionately pursues positive storytelling and has popularised the #nexusofgood, I am tempted to list the good in Uttar Pradesh. For, the fate of the State is linked to that of the country and millions of ordinary people. A good there has implications for all of us.

When the legendary Ratan Tata lent a warm handshake with Chief Minister Adityanath on December 22 last year at Mumbai’s Trident Hotel, he said, “Now that you are there, all will be well.” The Chief Minister was attending a road show ahead of Uttar Pradesh’s Investor Summit on February 21 and 21 and many stalwarts, including Mukesh Ambani, Dilip Shanghvi, Pawan Kumar Goenka and Sudhir Mehta met him to discuss opportunities. They are all upbeat about the improving law and order situation in the State and are eyeing to invest generously. So, while Mukesh Ambani wants to take the number of Reliance Retail and petrol pumps to 1,000 each from the current 300, Prakash Hinduja is keen on setting up an Ashok Leyland truck plant near Lucknow and Sun Pharma’s Dilip Shanghvi and Torrent chairman Sudhir Mehta expressed interest in setting up pharma city and pharma hub. On the other hand, Ratan Tata is keen on developing a cancer institute in Varanasi. That’s truly a nexus of good, for all these stalwarts coming together will catapult Uttar Pradesh into a new league. Industrialisation, which has eluded northern States for want of progressive policies and enabling environment, shall pick momentum and will result in the overall prosperity of the State and its people.

The Chief Minister is working hard on creating an enabling environment. Poor law and order has been a bane of Uttar Pradesh and Adityanath was aware of its larger ramifications. It acquired key prominence in his governance scheme and results are there for all to see. The crackdown on criminals that started ever since the Chief Minister took charge, has further intensified under new Director General of Police OP Singh. Experts say this policy of hot pursuit is designed to send a stern message to anti-social and criminal elements in Uttar Pradesh. This is also designed to break the back of criminals’ nexus with businesses and even politicians. That’s a great good and ordinary people are hoping this is beginning of a new era.

Farmers have been at the forefront of Adityanath’s good governance paradigm. Within days of taking charge, he fulfilled an election promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi — of waiving off Rs 36,000 crore worth of loans to 86 lakh farmers. What’s remarkable is that he did that without passing this on through any additional cess on taxpayers and by taking a series of reforms, including rationalising Government expenditure. He also streamlined procurement and against an average five to six lakh metric tonne paddy that was procured previously, in 2017 Uttar Pradesh procured a record 36 lakh metric tonne and payments were made directly to farmers in their accounts.

A slew of other reforms are being pursued to make the lives of citizens comfortable. The State is working overtime to strengthen public services delivery mechanism and recently, Adityanath instructed top officials to weave 252 additional services into e-district portal in a phased manner. This shall help the State realise what the Prime Minister calls ‘Ease of Living’. One must not forget it’s been barely 10 months, but changes all around are palpable and many believe that with this pace, the face of Uttar Pradesh shall metamorphize.  The man is a true Yogi, works an incredible 18 hours a day and is determined to expand the nexus of good and suffocate mesh of negativity.

 (The writer is a strategic communications professional)